The article “Ebola Virus in Latest
Outbreak Does Not Show Unusual Mutations” by Pam Belluck discusses and refutes
the argument that the 2014-2015 Ebola outbreak was more “lethal, fast-moving,
and transmissible” than previous ones. Belluck explains that these claims
appear to lack proper scientific evidence. A study published in the journal Science on Thursday includes data from a
genetic analysis of the Ebola virus from the current outbreak that suggests
that the virus is mutating similarly to the virus in smaller outbreaks.
Although more studies will be needed to support these claims, the news that
this virus retained the typical mutation rate is great for those trying to
combat the disease. The study analyzed the change in the virus over time,
starting with cases in Mali in October and November 2014 and working backwards
to cases in Guinea in March and Sierra Leone in June. The scientists found that
the virus did not mutate faster than the virus from other outbreaks, as
previously thought. Instead, researchers are blaming the turmoil, lack of
proper health care, and poverty of the areas ravaged by the disease as the main
cause for the alarming rates of infection. As of now, the virus has infected
24,000 people and has killed approximately 10,000.

The results of this study, if supported
by further research, have major implications for the development of treatment
and a vaccine for Ebola. If this particular virus had a significantly faster
mutation range than typical, it would be hard for scientists to develop a
treatment and vaccine that would be effective for long, because the virus would
keep mutating. However, since the current virus appears to be mutating at
average rates, scientists are still on course for finding a treatment for this
horrific disease. Furthermore, because the disease appears to not be able to
mutate at a higher than average rate, the chances that the virus will become
transmittable by air are severely decreased. Obviously, this type of “doomsday
situation” would have devastating consequences for the entire world, and if
this were the case, we may see results similar to the horror caused by the
bubonic plague.

This article did a good job of
explaining the study recently published and the implications this new data has
on vaccine and treatment development. It also did a good job of giving a
counterexample with previous data in order to refute it. It would have been
helpful to have information about previous studies that concluded that the
disease was, in fact, mutating at a high rate to compare the data from the
different studies and make an educated guess about what the disease might do in
the future. It also would have been beneficial to have data and information
about previous Ebola outbreaks to see how the current one compares.